By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Students want more than a piece of paper at the end of their time at BGSU. They need to see return on their investment (ROI). And the university is teaming up with companies to help them achieve that.
“BGSU right now is focused on the fact that each partnership that we build up with a company helps us tap into new partnerships that our students wouldn’t be able to access on their own,” said Steve Russell, the executive director for the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connection. “This is really about the ROI on a college education.”
Russell was speaking outside the grand ballroom in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union where Career Expo Week was just getting underway on this morning (9-16-24).
Inside the ballroom, students were visiting with dozens of representatives of companies offering internship and co-op opportunities.
Russell estimated about 1,500 students would take advantage of the expo, noting that about the same amount are working with coaches to secure internships and co-ops. Others take advantage of opportunities at the hub. “Students are in different stages of the process,” Russell said.
While some companies including Owens-Illinois, Nationwide Insurance, and Owens Corning will be represented all week, the make-up of companies on hand will shift depending on their needs, Russell said.
Monday the focus was on engineering, technology, and computer science.
Kathy Rothenbuhler, human resources manager at BetCo, said her company would be back Tuesday to seek chemists. On Monday, they were looking for information technology and maintenance interns.
The company offers these opportunities in hopes that after student interns graduate they’ll take full time jobs.
Internships, said Alyssa Pohlman, development program coordinator at Central Insurance, said give students a chance to work closely with employees and learn the company culture.
Claire Crockett, a sophomore studying computer science, said she planned to take advantage of internships to get a better sense of what direction her career should go.
Malakhi Griffin, a junior in computer science, is mainly interested in the software side of the insurance industry.
He said he’s availed himself of what the Kuhlin Hub offers, including the chance to get a professional photo portrait done.
Katelyn Maloney, a junior, said she was hoping to land a job in corporate finance when she graduated, and internships will help her achieve that goal.
The Kuhlin Hub has been operating for 20 months and has already doubled its staff to 19, Russell said.
And there’s another 16 in the Radbill Center for Life Design which works mostly with students when they first come to college.
The center’s introductory Life Design Course “is super helpful for freshmen who aren’t sure what to major in,” Crockett said.
Russell said the Kuhlin Hub is also available to work with BGSU grads. “We do about 250 appointments with alumni annually.”
Coaches from both the career hub and life design center have offices throughout campus in academic programs. And there’s a career hub team that works closely with corporate partners to further develop their connections to BGSU.
It extends beyond their research needs, Russell said. They also use university faculty to for research, and can offer further training to their current employees.
